Lilt of Lily is a sheer, milky pink-lilac shimmered with iridescent pink.

Pink Tinge is a sheer, yellow-based pink with gold shimmer.

These are lip balms, and they’re designed to be sheer–this is exactly what they are: tinted lip balm. If you have naturally pigmented lips, these will add mostly gloss for you. Those with paler natural lips may find that Full of Grace deposits some color. Lilt of Lily has the least amount of color, while Pink Tinge has the most shimmer. Earlier today, I was actually lamenting doing lip swatches for these, because they’re so similar when worn, and ironically, I didn’t do lip swatches when these first launched (back in 2009 with Baby Blooms) for the same reason!

We’re on that border again; it’s expected to be sheer, but at what point is sheer too close to clear and therefore unpigmented? Full of Grace enhances my natural lip color by making it pinker and rosier, so it seems near our target. Lilt of Lily does a little but to a lesser extent. Pink Tinge adds shimmer and makes my lips look a little lighter than normal, and the sheerness is closer to Lilt of Lily but there is a little more here. It seems like pigmentation is where it should be for Full of Grace (like 9/10), while Lilt of Lily is lacking (5/10), and Pink Tinge falls somewhere between there (7/10), which averages out to around 7.

Suntints have a thicker, jelly-ish consistency and feel a little like gel lips. They’re sticky (less so than Lipglass), and they have a light vanilla scent to them. I get only two to three hours of wear with these as a lip balm, but they are somewhat moisturizing. They seem to do a good job of locking in moisture, but I don’t feel like they add much to lips, because once it’s gone, so are most of the moisturizing benefits. The Suntints come in squeeze-tube packaging, and each tube holds a surprising amount of product (0.33 oz.).

Billionaire Bronze is a medium-dark tan with warm, golden undertones. It has a soft natural sheen but no shimmer. It doesn’t have the shimmer that Beach Bronze cream bronzer from To the Beach (’10) has, but it is similar in the color. I’m not sure if NARS has something comparable; possibly Malaysia.

Gilty Bronze is a darkened, coppery bronze with a strong frosted finish. It seems most comparable to NARS Palm Beach.

Tan Tint is a soft, slightly warmed over tan with a near matte finish. It is less golden than Billionaire Bronze. It’s less red-based and doesn’t have shimmer, but it resembles Weekend cream bronzer from To the Beach (’10). This seems similar to NARS Cap Vert.

These are really pigmented–don’t just swipe the whole stick across your face. I did so to swatch, and it was like, “WHOA! there!” You’ll want to pat the stick against the skin to deposit color, and then blend it out. These are easy to blend, but they dry down quick enough that I recommend doing one area at a time. It’s been about eight hours since I’ve applied Billionaire Bronze, and it’s still going strong. Despite being really pigmented, they feel very lightweight and look natural overall (though Gilty Bronze doesn’t look natural, with the heavier frosted finish).

NARS’ The Multiples feel very much like these, and MAC’s variation is about the same size (0.49 oz. compared to NARS at 0.50 oz.). There was something off about the way MAC did the packaging, though–something about it feels a little cheap. They just didn’t feel as sturdy or as robust as other packaging types in MAC’s line-up, though realistically, I don’t see these breaking or coming apart either.

Gold-Go-Lightly is a warm, golden tan with a near matte finish–it has this very faint satin-like sheen but it’s so subtle. It is warmer and more orange than Golden bronzing powder and Give Me Sun! MSFN.

Lush-Light Bronze is a medium-dark rosy tan with the same near matte finish of Gold-Go-Lightly. There are definite red undertones in this shade, and it is noticeably darker than Gold-Go-Lightly. It’s really similar to Sun Power MSFN.

These applied so beautifully–they sit really well on skin. Not powdery but very soft, smooth, and natural. The one word going through my head when I applied these to cheeks (and I used the 116) was how natural the color looked and felt. I think the texture is what separates these from other bronzers; it just sets and looks so natural on the skin. The wear time is excellent, too–still there after eight hours.

I would like to know why these are listed (in the press release) at $28, when normal Studio Careblend Pressed Powder is $23.00–these are also slightly lighter at 0.33 oz. compared to 0.35 oz. for the flesh-colored variations (that are permanent).

MAC Surf Baby: Blue Moon, Gilded White Powerpoint Pencils

Blue Noon is a medium-dark, bluish teal. It’s a touch sheer–it’s hard to see in the swatch, but I saw it immediately and felt it translated in application, too. It is tealer than Float on By, which looks rather blue in comparison.

Gilded White is a warm white gold with a metallic sheen.

I like MAC’s Powerpoint Pencil formula quite a bit; the pencil is soft without being crumbly or near-melting, so it retains its shape but glides across the lash line with effortless ease. It deposits enough color in one pass, which means you don’t have to build up the color in layers. Powerpoints last all day on my lash line, and make it to four to six hours on my water line. They’re also waterproof, and I find that they don’t smudge or budge, even during hot days.

MAC Surf Baby: Summer Stash

MAC Summer Stash Crushed Metallic Pigment Stack ($32.50 for 0.40 oz.) comes with two stacks of colors, with each stack having two shades. The Summer Stash stack’s shades are described as “light pink champagne, light white pearl, light violet with silver pearl, brown bronze with gold pearl.” The individual colors do not have shade names, just the stack itself.

The first shade I swatched is a pinky plum–it’s purple and yet it’s pink. Just a touch a sheer. It reminded me of Plum Dressing with a purpler base.

Next, I swatched a rich, decadent chocolate brown with a bronzy shimmer and metallic finish. It’s a darker, more lush version of Chocolate Brown pigment; richer, deeper than Bronze eyeshadow.

The third shade is a bright white-beige with a metallic finish–also a little sheer. It’s similar to Phloof! but more frost in the finish.

Finally, the last shade is a gilded champagne beige with a bright metallic finish. It’s a slightly pinked, more metallic version of Sunnydaze. It’s a little less pink than Naked Lunch.

Each stack is about 2.5x the size of a regular, full-sized pigment–essentially, the value here is about $52 worth of product. The texture of these is chunkier than pigments, though they don’t apply that way. For the most part, they have a tendency to stick together, which is why I can see the “crushed metal” name coming from, and obviously, the finishes are very strong frosts/metallics (also, expected, from the name). The gold shade was the chunkiest, unusually so (it looks nothing like the previous stacks I’ve had nor any of the ones from this launch)–made it look like little nuggets of gold goodness!

These are best used over a slightly tacky base (like MAC Mixing Medium) or wet, because they are more like a loose color than a pressed one, but the pigment itself does bind well over an eyeshadow base or regular eyeshadow without having to be used wet, because as you press the product on, it doesn’t poof everywhere. These adhere well, and for all intents and purposes, I find them very much like MAC Pigments. When applied wet, they adhere really well without a base; when applied dry, you really have to press and ensure it’s been smoothed out to wear it alone without a base.

MAC Surf Baby: Surf the Ocean

MAC Surf the Ocean Crushed Metallic Pigment Stack ($32.50 for 0.40 oz.) comes with two stacks of colors, with each stack having two shades. The Surf the Ocean stack’s shades are described as “frosty platinum, light yellow green, gold bronze, and dirty graphite with silver pearl.” The individual colors do not have shade names, just the stack itself.

The first shade of the stack that I tried was a medium-dark silvery gray with a metallic finish. It’s like a lighter version of Silver Ring, seems comparable to Silver pigment (long discontinued).

Next, we have a really blackened navy blue with multicolored shimmer of teal, green, and blue with more of a frost finish. Deep Blue Green would seem the closest but this is definitely bluer.

The third shade I swatched was a medium-dark, bronzy gold with a metallic finish. It’s a little less copper than Amber Lights eyeshadow.

Finally, there is a seafoam green that is really iridescent and a little sheer (even when swatched wet), and it photographs less seafoam and almost like this mauve-gray. I can’t think of any similar shades in the permanent line, but it almost seems like a lighter version of NARS Dogon.

Each stack is about 2.5x the size of a regular, full-sized pigment–essentially, the value here is about $52 worth of product. The texture of these is chunkier than pigments, though they don’t apply that way. For the most part, they have a tendency to stick together, which is why I can see the “crushed metal” name coming from, and obviously, the finishes are very strong frosts/metallics (also, expected, from the name). The gold shade was the chunkiest, unusually so (it looks nothing like the previous stacks I’ve had nor any of the ones from this launch)–made it look like little nuggets of gold goodness!

These are best used over a slightly tacky base (like MAC Mixing Medium) or wet, because they are more like a loose color than a pressed one, but the pigment itself does bind well over an eyeshadow base or regular eyeshadow without having to be used wet, because as you press the product on, it doesn’t poof everywhere. These adhere well, and for all intents and purposes, I find them very much like MAC Pigments. When applied wet, they adhere really well without a base; when applied dry, you really have to press and ensure it’s been smoothed out to wear it alone without a base.